The death toll from Pakistan’s violent weekend protests over the killing of Iran’s supreme leader has reached at least 25, according to an international media report.
Demonstrations erupted in several major cities in Pakistan, including the southern megacity of Karachi where some protesters attempted to storm American diplomatic buildings. An AFP journalist witnessed hundreds of pro-Iranian protesters trying to enter the United States consulate, prompting clashes with police. At least 10 deaths were reported and over 70 were injured, the office of the Karachi police surgeon said, while a hospital toll seen by a foreign reporter listed nine people as having died from gunshot wounds.
In Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan region, at least 13 people were killed in clashes between protesters and police, officials said. Seven people were killed in Gilgit, a rescue official said, while six others died in Skardu, a doctor told media on Monday. Authorities have imposed a late-night curfew, which will remain in place until Wednesday in Gilgit and Skardu, where the army has been deployed on the streets.
Two more people were killed as thousands of people gathered in the streets of the capital, Islamabad, many holding photos of the late Iranian leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
